[Index]
The use of prevention and response
in UNECE treaty could have alleviated
Chinese disaster
Geneva, 2 December
2005 - As
a result of an explosion that occurred
at a petrochemical plant in Girin in
the Jilin Province in China on 13 November
2005, five people were killed and 70
injured. Thousands were evacuated from
around the facility. Hazardous organic
chemicals, in particular benzene – a
very dangerous and poisonous substance – were
spilled into the Songhua River disrupting
the supply of drinking water to 3.8 million
residents of Harbin and damaging the
environment. The accident is expected
to cause a transboundary effect as the
toxic spill flows from the Songhua into
the Amur River, a natural border between
China and the Russian Federation. It
may then affect the 500 thousand population
of Khabarovsk. ‘The Chinese authorities
waited for too long before information
on the accident and its consequences
was provided’, says Mr. Kaj Bärlund,
Director of the Environment Division
of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) that has negotiated
a Convention
on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial
Accidents.
Mr. Bärlund notes that hazardous
industrial installations can be made
safer if their risks are assessed and
if precautions are taken to prevent accidents.
This requires the implementation of safety
management systems and enforcement of
prevention measures. Consequences of
industrial accidents can often be reduced
if properly addressed. This, in the first
place, requires the immediate activation
of adequate on-site and off-site contingency
plans, including coordinated response.
To this end, effective notification systems
are essential. What is also extremely
important is that information is shared,
without delay, with all actors, in particular
with the affected public. ‘These
are actions at the core of the UNECE
treaty.’
Since industrial accidents may cause
transboundary effects, countries must
also develop and maintain contacts with
their neighbours and cooperate with others
at the international level.
In recognition of this, the UNECE Convention
has proven to be an increasingly important
European mechanism enabling countries
to work together with an aim to increase
industrial safety and thus reduce the
threat of industrial accidents to human
health and our common environment.
Mr. Bärlund concludes that the
UNECE is prepared to share its experience
in the area of prevention of and response
to industrial accidents also to interested
countries and regions outside the UNECE
area. ‘The solutions that the treaty
establishes for transboundary cooperation
are equally useful for national contexts
like that in China.’
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Kaj BÄRLUND, Director
UNECE
Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations
CH–1211 Geneva
10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 23 70
Fax: +41
(0)22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/ENV/05/P09